Speaking with the minister of agriculture of the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world

The Dutch minister of agriculture: Carola Schouten

October 30, 2018

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he Netherlands is the second-largest agricultural exporter after the US. The Dutch agricultural sector booked yet another export record in 2017. Exports totaled €92bn last year, making the Netherlands the second-largest agricultural exporter in the world after the US. Please note that the Netherlands is slightly less than twice the size of New Jersey. So what is it that we do in the Netherlands that puts us in this position? Well, technology plays a big role.

The Netherlands has become an agricultural giant by showing what the future of farming could look like. VanderSat proudly builds upon that legacy with our earth observation aimed at agriculture and water management.

Yesterday, our CEO Menno van der Marel had a chance to discuss the future of farming with Carola Schouten, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture. She is known as someone who is advocating for a more sustainable approach to agriculture. VanderSat is on a mission to solve the global water and food crisis using satellites which made our talks that much easier. We talked with minister Schouten about how our satellite data leads to less use of fertilizers, pesticides and water. We also elaborated on the fact that 83% of the world’s agricultural disasters are drought related and how we work together with agricultural and insurance multinationals to do our part in solving these huge issues.

One thing was clear, technology will play a huge roll in making agriculture more circular and sustainable and VanderSat will continue to do our part.

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